Collaboration equals job opportunity for Indigenous youth

Collaboration equals job opportunity for Indigenous youth

General

Tuesday 30th May 2017

“Dru Marsden is a very reliable and dedicated young Indigenous man”, says Glen Gartshore of the Housing Trust.

Dru has been an Internal Maintenance Trainee at the Housing Trust. He is one of the Aboriginal identified trainees who are part of the Housing Trust’s Aboriginal Employment Strategy to help close the employment gap for Indigenous people.

Dru has accepted an apprenticeship with All Worx Plumbing.

“Plumbing has always been a career option for me – if you hand me a tool, I’ll fix it” says Dru. “I did a week’s trial with All Worx Plumbing When I asked the bloke if he saw a plumber in me, he said ‘definitely’ – so I had to take the apprenticeship.”

“Doing a traineeship at the Housing Trust has given me a good start – I have confidence, experience with tools and with being onsite. I have done a bit of plumbing too – the boss will see I can do some already!”

His dedication and hard work has resulted in Dru finishing his Certificate II in Construction Pathways, through Illawarra ITEC, 6 months early

“Dru is another success story from our work with Warrigal Employment, who are part of the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation,” says Lindsay Kelly, Acting CEO of the Housing Trust. “We appreciate all of Dru’s great work, wish him all the best in his future endeavours, and are pleased that the Housing Trust could help him on his career path.”

The traineeship has been a great experience for Dru. “I recommend young Indigenous people to apply to the Housing Trust – it is a good opportunity and provides you with a good start. Glen is a good teacher and a great bloke to work with – he has taught me all sorts of different trades.”

Glen has enjoyed working with Dru, and is looking forward to helping the next trainee. ““I think the traineeship through the Housing Trust is a great opportunity for young Indigenous kids. Dru coming on board has taken the opportunity with both hands and proven himself to be a reliable, honest and dedicated worker – setting a great example for younger generations. I wish him all the best in his future working endeavours and have no doubts I will see him onsite one day.”

The Housing Trust has been employing Aboriginal identified trainees since 2014, and is currently recruiting for the new role of Lawns and Gardens Trainee. The traineeship is one of the ways that the organisation is working towards being an employer of choice for Aboriginal People, providing a pathway to assist Indigenous people to gain experience and qualifications in the workforce.